AIM

MSN

Website URL

ICQ

Yahoo

Jabber

Skype

Location

Interests

Hi
On Saturday a very large dog came at high speed out of a hedge and collided with the front corner of my wife's car. She stopped, the dog surprisingly continued to run around. On the other side of the road there was a white van containing the dog's owner. The dog's owner said that she had lost control of the dog as it had chased a deer. My wife had a quick look at her car, in the dark, and didn't notice any damage. However when she got home, we found some very expensive damage to the front lights and bodywork. We didn't realise at the time that by law we should have called the police immediately - it was only by chance that I found out that we were supposed to inform the police at all, but this we did by calling at the local police station, and they are perfectly happy on that.
Unfortunately, my wife didn't at the time realise that her car was very badly damaged, and didn't swap any details of any kind with the dog owner (who said just "thankyou for stopping, my dog had been chasing deer"). Anyway, I do realise that the dog owner is liable. I also know it is unlikely that the dog owner will have reported anything separately to the police.
However the police response surprised me. They said that they will not search on their records for any incident involving a dog in the area, so they will not even do a few minutes work to find out if the dog owner made a report, never mind do anything purporting to an 'investigation' (asking local vets for any emergency treatment etc) even though they realise that the dog owner is responsible for the accident. Not only that, they said that even if the dog owner did report something to the duty office at the station and that duty officer realised full well that the accident being reported is the same one, the police would not let me know. So I stand no chance of claiming from the dog owner, and the police don't seem concerned.
is this the correct position for the police to adopt ?

He was rescued with only seconds to spare.
Sergeant Mark Shepherd on duty
Three police officers entered a house and faced down an aggressive Alsatian to save a man's life are to receive awards.
Sgt Mark Shepherd and PC Michael LeFevre were first on the scene after being called to a house where the man who was believed to want to take his own life had locked himself in.
The officers managed to barge their way into the home and within seconds they heard the man jump from a stool with a cord around his neck.
Sgt Shepherd acted quickly and picked up the man's body to take the pressure off his neck.
PC LeFevre took over supporting the man’s weight and Sgt Shepherd ran to the kitchen, grabbing a knife so the man could be cut down.
But Sgt Shepherd was confronted by a very large and aggressive Alsatian so had to use a kitchen stool to create distance between them.
They managed to get the man breathing and put him in the recovery position until an ambulance arrived.
He was later detained under the Mental Health Act.
Sgt Shepherd is now set to receive a Royal Humane Society Testimonial on parchment, and PC LeFevre, along with their colleague PC Steve Godden are to receive a certificates of commendation from the organisation.
Sgt Shepherd told Police Oracle: “We experience a lot of attempted suicides but this is the first one where we’ve had to act in seconds. The adrenaline kicks in and you have to act fast.”
The officers were sent a letter afterwards by the man’s wife thanking them, Sgt Shepherd added: “In a weird way I felt a bit embarrassed when I heard I received the award, but it’s nice to be recognised.
“We never expect awards, we’re just doing the job and it’s what we signed up for. It feels good and I would do it all over again if I had the chance.”
Dick Wilkinson, secretary of the Royal Humane Society, said: “There is little doubt that, but for the swift action of these three officers, the man would have died.
“They were on the scene rapidly, they broke in, found him. It was made even more difficult by the presence of the dog. Thankfully though they managed and he survived.
“They richly deserve the awards that have been made to them.”
The Royal Humane Society is a 200-year-old charity that grants awards for acts of bravery in the saving of human life and, also, for the restoration of life by resuscitation.
View on Police Oracle